In Icelandic waters, a harpooned fin whale can take two full hours to die. That grim finding, published in a 2023 government-commissioned report, ignited a national reckoning — and now it may help end commercial whaling in Iceland for goodcher. In February 2027, Iceland’s government will submit a bill that could permanently ban whaling in its territorial waters. If it passes, only Norway and Japan would still allow the practice anywhere on Earth.
The push follows a decision by Iceland’s minister of industries, Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, who called the whaling laws "outdated" and voiced support for ending the hunt. The proposed law slots into a wider global tide: for decades, a moratorium by the International Whaling Commission has tried to stop commercial whaling, though Norway resumed it in 1993era and Iceland followed in 2006. Japan simply left the commission in 2019 and started again in its own waters. That leaves just three nations whaling commercially today — and Iceland’s move could shrink that number to two.
The numbers show what is at stake. So far this year, up to 8 September, 80 fin whales were caught in Iceland’s waters, according to the animal welfare group Humane World for Animals. The hunting season runs from June to the end of September, and Iceland’s quota allows up to 150 animals. Fin whales are the second-largest animals on Earth, after blue whales, and they are classified as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature — despite decades of recovery since the 1986 moratorium.
Behind the hunt stands a single company: Hvalur, run by Kristján Loftsson. An earlier interim government handed Hvalur a five-year permit that runs until 2029. Animal welfare campaigners know that even if the ban becomes law, that existing permit will probably be allowed to expire naturally. Wendy Higgins of Humane World for Animals called the bill "a significant milestone" and pointed to "compelling ethical, veterinary, legal and conservation reasons to hope it succeeds." Sharon Livermore, director of marine conservation at the International Fund for Animal Welfare, framed it as "a groundbreaking step towards modern day marine conservation and animal welfare, especially for a country so reliant on a healthy ocean."
Iceland may be small, but its decision carries outsized weight — both for the whales it protects and for the message it sends to the rest of the world. A successful ban would leave just two nations still hunting whales commercially, a striking turn for an island nation whose economy and culture are built around the sea. If the parliament votes yes, Iceland would join a growing club of countries choosing conservation over an industry that campaigners say serves no purpose. It is a rare chance for a country to rewrite its own legacy on the water.